Bottled products such as carbonated beverages require evidence whether the closure has been opened and whether the contents remains sealed. For example, a carbonated beverage bottle cap that is slightly opened can allow carbon dioxide to escape; so even while the cap safety ring has not been broken, the beverage may spoil even though there is no evidence of tampering.
Many tamper-evident closures are known from the prior art, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,408, U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,500 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,188; however, all of these prior art closures comprise a frangible portion. U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,408, for example, discloses a one-piece closure including an end wall, an internally threaded upper portion and a depending lower skirt portion which includes an inwardly projecting bead adapted to engage the annular collar on the container. The depending lower skirt portion has a substantially uniform thickness throughout its entire area intended to contact the annular collar on the container, and the closure includes an area of weakness which is designed to fracture in a substantially horizontal plane across the closure. Fracture thus occurs when the closure is unthreaded from the container, thereby leaving the lower skirt portion engaged to the annular collar on the container after the end wall and internally threaded upper portion of the closure have been removed.
With respect to the prior art closures, the frangible portion fractures when a user unscrews the bottle closure for the first time, serving as visual evidence that the bottle has been opened. Such an arrangement is in violation of the Sabbath according to most authorities as the closure, after being unscrewed for the first time, has been effectuated into a usable tool which can be screwed again onto the bottle.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an anti-tamper bottle closure that complies with the regulations of the Jewish Sabbath.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.